GBP/USD is unchanged on Tuesday, as the pair trades slightly under the 1.55 line in the European session. In economic news, there are two events on Tuesday that should be treated as market-movers. In the UK, BOE Governor Mark Carney will testify before the Treasury Select Committee. In the US, we’ll get a look at Building Permits, with little change expected in the September report. As well, the US will release Housing Starts.
BOE Governor Mark Carney testifies before the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday on the proposed Bank of England Bill. This bill would provide some oversight over the BOE, with bill supporters welcoming an increase in transparency. However, critics are concerned that the bill could reduce the independence of the central bank and lead to political interference in its decision-making process. In earlier testimony before the Treasury Select Committee, BOE member Anthony Habgood criticized the bill, saying that it posed a “potential threat to the carefully constructed independence of the policy functions of the bank.” To frame the issue, this is a question of the independence of the central bank vs. its accountability to the public.
US key releases on Friday were a mixed bag. UoM Consumer Sentiment, the primary gauge of consumer confidence, jumped to 92.1 points in October, up from 85.7 points. This easily beat the estimate of 88.8 points. At the same time, JOLTS Job Openings slipped to 5.37 million, way off the estimate of 5.77 million. The JOLTS release is especially important as it is watched closely by the Fed and is a factor in its decision-making process regarding monetary policy.
GBP/USD Fundamentals
Tuesday (Oct. 20)
- 9:45 BOE MPC Member Ian McCafferty Speaks.
- 10:00 BOE Governor Mark Carney Speaks.
- 12:30 US Building Permits. Estimate 1.16M
- 12:30 US Housing Starts. Estimate 1.14M.
- 13:00 FOMC Member William Dudley Speaks.
- 13:15 FOMC Member Jerome Powell Speaks.
- 15:00 Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen Speaks.
*Key releases are highlighted in bold
*All release times are GMT
GBP/USD for Tuesday, October 20, 2015
GBP/USD October 20 at 10:40 GMT
GBP/USD 1.5477 H: 1.5481 L: 1.5426
GBP/USD Technical
| S3 | S2 | S1 | R1 | R2 | R3 |
| 1.5163 | 1.5269 | 1.5341 | 1.5485 | 1.5590 | 1.5660 |
- GBP/USD has shown very little movement during the day, continuing the trend which has marked the pair since late last week.
- 1.5485 is a weak resistance line, which could be tested during the day.
- 1.5341 is a strong support level.
- Current range: 1.5341 to 1.5485
Further levels in both directions:
- Below: 1.5341, 1.5269, 1.5163 and 1.5026
- Above: 1.5485, 1.5590 and 1.5660
OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio
GBP/USD ratio is showing slight movement towards short positions on Tuesday, which now have a majority of positions (54%). This points to slight trader bias in favor of GBP/USD moving lower.